title: Predicting and assessing fall risk in an acute inpatient rehabilitation facility.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Unintentional falls account for 70% of all hospital accidents. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for falls and develop an assessment tool specific for an inpatient rehabilitation facility setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diagnosis and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores were collected for 174 patients to assess predictors for fall risk. Independent t-tests, chi-square, and logistic regression analysis were conducted to examine differences between fallers and nonfallers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified several risk factors for falls including 4 FIM items: toileting, bed transfer, tub/shower transfer, and stairs; and three diagnoses: right stroke, traumatic brain injury, and amputation. From these findings, we completed initial development of a risk assessment tool.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluation of the tool suggests good specificity with 20%-30% of the patient population identified as high risk and good sensitivity by correctly predicting nearly 90% of patient falls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Continued evaluation of this assessment tool is needed to identify effectiveness in predicting patients who are at high risk for falling.
authors.affiliation: Casa Colina Hospital for Rehabilitative Medicine, Pomona, California, USA.
authors.forename: Emily R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Rosario
authors.forename: Stephanie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Sepehr
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khonsari
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019145:Rehabilitation Nursing / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D020521:Stroke / Q000451:nursing; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation
keywords: Rehabilitation; brain injury; fall risk; inpatient rehabilitation facility; stroke